When You Don't Finish A Hole

What should I do if I don’t finish a hole, or my opponent concedes a stroke?

If you don’t finish a hole or a stroke is conceded, you should record your most likely score. Most likely score is the number of strokes already taken, plus in your best judgement, the number of strokes needed to complete the hole from that point more than half the time.

On your scorecard, you need to post your most likely score with an "X" preceding the number.

For example, you have already hit 2 strokes and you are just off the green, and your opponent just holed out for a 3; you may decide to pick up. What should you record on the scorecard? Most likely you would chip up and two putt; therefore, you should record an X-5 on the card. (2, already taken, + 3 to complete the hole).Contrary to what some people may think, you don’t automatically put down your ESC maximum. First, you determine your most likely score, and then after the round, check to see if the most likely score is above your ESC limit.

What should I do if I don’t play a hole?

For Handicap Purposes, you should record par plus any handicap strokes for that hole.For example, you are not able to play holes 17 and 18 due to darkness. You have a Course Handicap of 12 and holes 17 and 18 are a par 3 and 4, and are allocated as the number 16 and 3 handicap holes respectively. Therefore, you would record an x-3 on hole 17 (par + 0 handicap) and x-5 on hole 18 (par + 1 handicap).